The Crimes of Elagabalus: The Life and Legacy of Rome's Decadent Boy Emperor - Couverture rigide

Icks, Martijn

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 1848853629 ISBN 13 : 9781848853621

Editeur : I.B. Tauris, 2011

Synopsis

The Crimes of Elagabalus Elagablus, raised to the throne at the age of fourteen in 218 AD, and assassinated only four years later, remains among the most notorious and enigmatic of Roman Emperors. The contemporary and Byzantine sources on his reign portray a life of decadence and sexual and criminal excess, as well as religious affront to Rome's traditions. Full description

A propos du livre

Revue de presse :

'This is a clear and well-organized account written in a lively and approachable way. It is not a routine imperial biography, but a much wider study encompassing the nature of religious belief, culture and ethnicity, the presentation of the imperial image and the response to this in Rome and the provinces. An important and original aspect is the description of the dissemination of classical culture and the reception of Rome in later periods, and in particular the changing image of Elagabalus in opera, drama and fiction.' --Brian Campbell, Professor of Roman History, Queen's University Belfast

'Martyn Icks's racy biography --The Sunday Times

'By analyzing narrative and material sources and synthesizing the valid assessments of recent scholarship, Icks presents a cogent and consistent argument for what from the ancient literary sources constitutes evidence for the real Elagabalus.' --H-Net Reviews (USA)

'By analyzing narrative and material sources and synthesizing the valid assessments of recent scholarship, Icks presents a cogent and consistent argument for what from the ancient literary sources constitutes evidence for the real Elagabalus.' --H-Net Reviews (USA)

Présentation de l'éditeur :

Elagabalus is one of the most notorious of Rome's 'bad emperors': a sexually-depraved and eccentric hedonist who in his short and riotous reign made unprecedented changes to Roman state religion and defied all taboos. An oriental boy-priest from Syria - aged just fourteen when he was elevated to power in 218 CE - he placed the sun god El-Gabal at the head of the established Roman pantheon, engaged in orgiastic rituals, took male and female lovers, wore feminine dress and prostituted himself in taverns and even inside the imperial palace. Since his assassination by Praetorian Guards at the age of eighteen, Elagabalus has been an object of fascination to historians and a source of inspiration for artists and writers. This immensely readable book examines the life of one of the Roman Empire's most colourful figures, and charts the many guises of his legacy: from evil tyrant to firebrand rebel, from mystical androgyne to modern gay teenager, from decadent sensualist to ancient pop star.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: I.B. Tauris
• Date d'édition: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1848853629
• ISBN 13: 9781848853621
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 288